So we last posted about arriving at Paray-le-Monial on the 23rd of July. Our cruising season ended in late September – so where are the articles? Well, two are in draft but over the last month or so we have been completely flat out and haven’t had a chance to complete the drafts or press on with the other parts of our cruising. As I write this, it’s the day before we leave for season 2025 and there is precious little chance that we will catch up before the start of this season.
So, with apologies, we will do that catch up later but here is a quick overview of how our season progressed from our last posting.
After a superb time in Paray-le-Monial, our guests took their leave and we continued eastwards up the Canal du Centre.
We thoroughly enjoyed this canal enjoying wine,
château visits,
tours of mines,
and a side trip to the major wine town of Burgundy – Beaune.
A highlight was a few days of wild mooring at Santenay with Lon and Pat on C.A.R.I.B III.
From there we pressed on along the canal until we eventually reached the junction with the River Saône and we headed upstream. Eventually, we reached Frances’ largest inland waterway port town, Saint Jean de Losne where we refuelled and spent a few days relaxing before heading off on a short ‘there and back trip’ up the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, most of which was on the canalised River Doubs. We were basically marking time before reaching our winter port so we had short cruises and long stays particularly at the delightful town of Dole
and then a week in the spectacular town of Besançon with its imposing fortress.
At that point, we started back with a second stop at our favourite wild mooring for the year
and again paused at Dole. Our last days of cruising took us back to the Saône and to then arrive at our winter port in Auxonne.
We had been timing our cruising so that we could meet four of the five couples who started with us in our search for a barging lifestyle back in 2012. Pete and Deb on Fairhaven, Deb and Howard on Moondance and Tony and Rita on Kanumbra. A unique experience as we often meet in person in Melbourne but to have the chance to gather with our barges in France was very special. We spent close to three weeks on maintenance and winterising Catharina Elisabeth and left Auxonne in the pouring rain on September 27th.
Summary
We cruised for 51 days out of 99 from when we left Migennes to arriving in Auxonne. We travelled 851 km and passed 257 locks, seven bridges and passed through tunnels four times. Our trusty DAF engine operated for 198 hours, consumed 520 litres of diesel at a rate of 2.5 L/h.
We both agreed that this was the best season and the most enjoyable cruise we had ever experienced. We had no significant problems with either Catharina or the waterways; the countryside was wonderful and the attractions superb; and the socialising with our travelling companions (especially Pat and Lon) and the many others we met along the way was a delight. A most memorable season.
